Uma narrativa mítica do sert？o

brazilian social imagination and our own experience of brazilianism have been built up, at least since the nineteenth century, around the image and the feeling that brazil is a dual country. initially formulated as an opposition between civilization and savageness, this duality has constantly been unfolded in other ones, such as civilized/primitive, modern/traditional, littoral/sert？o etc. (portuguese term for backcountry, backland, or hinterland). in this article, we discuss the opposition littoral/sert？o proposing to assume the sert？o as a character in the myth that narrates the conquest of civilization by the brazilian nation.